Unit door latch



' Filed Aug. 25, 1949 G. B. DoREY 2,684,644

`Iuly 27, 1954 UNIT DOOR LATCH 3 Sheets-Sheet l GyB. DOREY UNIT DOOR LATCH July 27, 1954 5 SheetsvSheet 2 Filed Aug. 25. 1949 INVENTOR. Geog@ ,5. Barr@ M Mm# G. B. DOREY UNIT DOOR LATCH July 27, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 25, 1949 INVENTOR. HQ60/g e 5076@ Patented July 27, 1954 .UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE UNIT VDOOR LATCH 'George B. Dorey, Westmount, Quebec, Canada, {assignor to Enterprise 'Railway Equipment Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application August 25, 1949, Serial No. 112,226

4 Claims. (Cl. 10S-308) 'This invention relates, generally, to railway cars of the hopper type and it has particular relation to =1latchingmechanisms `for the hopper doors-thereof.

Among the objects of this invention are: To constructa latching mechanism for the door of a hopper so that the force applied to -move the latch vbar into 4locking engagement with the cooperating-shouldered elment or hocken the hopper is also used to swing vthe door to the closed position; to position the Vhook so that it provides a minimum of interference Awith the ilow of lading therepast; to arrange the latch bar which `engages the hook so vthat it seals off the aperture in the door ythrough which the hook projects; to locate the latch bar substantially entirely yto 'one side -of the hook; and to provide for wedging'the door from the partly closed to the fully closed position,

`Other objects 4of this invention will, in part, be obvious and in` part appear hereinafter.

"This invention is disclosed Ain the vembodiment, thereof shown in the accompanying drawings and it v'comprises the features 'of construction, combination 'of elements and arrangement -of parts which will be exemplied Yin the construction hereinafter set forth andthe'scope of the'application'of which will Abe'indicated intheappended claims.

For a more eompleteunderstanding `of 'the'natureandscopev of this invention, reference can be had `to the following 'detailed description, Mtaken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 Yis `a detail sectional view taken `generally alongthe line I-I' of Figure Sand showing a vla'tchmechanism forthe door of a hopper. the door being shown closed;

Figure 2 is a view lsimilar to Figure l and showing `the 'latch mechanism holding lthe door in the partly closed position;

Figure isa view, in front elevation, of the door in the open position mounted along its upper edge on the hopper;

Figure 4 is a view showing'the lowerportion of the door Vin the fully closed position Vwith the latching bar locked in this position;

`Figure`5 'is Aa view, similarto Figure 4, showing how the latching bar cooperates withjthe hook shaped element onthe :hopperfto swing the door to `'the fully closed position;

Figure 6 is a View of a-strap whichis employed for pivoting the lIlatching vbar andthe locking dog andproviding a fulcrum Afor the operating bar; and

Figure 7 is a'view, inside elevationyof the 'strap shown in Figure 6.

Referring now particularly Ato Figures 1 and 3 of the drawings, it will be observed that the reference character l0 designates a center sill of va conventional railway car having a side rframe -H spacedtherefrom with a hopper l2 therebetween. The hopper l2 is formed by side walls I3 and 1'4, a top wall I5, and a floor I6 which slopes downwardly to an opening ll. Surrounding the opening Il is a frame that is indicated, generally, at 20. It comprises a stirrup'portion, shown generallyyat2l, which has frame sides 22 vand 23 and a frame bottom 24 all of lwhich have a T-sliaped cross section as shown more yclearly in VFigure "1. The frame 20 is completed by a top frame'vmember 25 from which hinge butts 26 projects. The hinge butts 26 carry hinge pins 21 which support hinge straps 28at 'their upper ends. The hinge straps 28 are secured by rivets 23 to a door which is indicated, generally, at 39. The door 3i] is generally pan shaped and it 'has a frange 3| around its edge which ts over the juxtaposed nat portions of the frame 2D, as shown -in Figure l, so as'to provide a' tight sealtherewith.

Mounted on the iioor It is a shouldered'or hook shaped element 34 which may be secured thereto by rivets v35. The element 34 has a shank portion 35 which projects through an opening 37, Figure 2, in the door 30 and also through a registering opening 38 in a beam member 3S whichmay be secured by rivets t4l] to the lower edge of the door 30 and which extends along the same as shown in Figure 3. Itwill be observed that the beam member 39 is generally of Z-shape crosssection intermediate its ends and that the intermediate-plate portion 4l, Figure 3, is positioned nat against the lower outer surface of the door 3B. The upper liange of the Z-shaped cross section which isili-- dicated at 42 extends outwardly and defines the uppervedge of the opening 38. The lower flange 43 of the Z-shaped vcross section underlies the flange 3l of the pan shaped door 3D.

The shouldered or hook shaped element 34 which is mounted on the oor vI 6 has a noseportion 44, Figure 2, in which there is a notch 45 that opens downwardly. This construction provides a minimum of vinterference with the iiow of lading past the shouldered or hook shaped `element 34.

At its outer end the nose portion'44 hasan inclined under surface 41 which is arranged toengage the'upperedge y48 of a latching -bar `49 for the purpose of automatically -moving the same to a position where it can fall into the notch 45 in a manner to be described.

As illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawings, the latching bar 49 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends. For this purpose a boss 59, Figure '7, is provided on a strap l and formed integrally therewith. The strap 5| is secured in position on the door 39 by rivets 52 and 53. It will be understood that the rivet 52 extends through the intermediate plate portion 4l of the beam member 39 while the rivet 53 extends through a bracket 54 that extends upwardly from the beam member 39 and is formed integrally therewith.

As shown in Figure 1 the nose portion 44 of the hook shaped element 34 is provided with stepped faces 55 and 56 which are parallel to each other but are olfset and are interconnected by an inclined wedging face 51. Similarly the latching bar 49 is provided with stepped faces 59 and 59 which are parallel to each other and which are interconnected by an inclined wedging face 5l as shown in Figure 2.

In Figure l it will be observed that the stepped faces 59 and 69 of the latching bar 49 are in mutual engagement with the corresponding stepped faces 55 and 56 when the door 30 is held in the fully closed position. If desired, in this position the inclined wedging faces 6I and 51 also can be in engagement to provide additional bearing surface between the hook shaped element 34 and the latching bar 49.

It is desirable that the opening 31 in the door 30 and the opening 33 in the beam member 39 be sealed olf when the door 33 is closed so as to prevent the escape of lading therethrough. For this purpose the opening 38 is provided with a beading 62 therearound which constitutes an integral extension of the upper flange 42. The inner surface 63 of the latching bar 49 is arranged to sealingly engage this beading 52 and thus, when the door 30 is closed, the lower portion of the opening 38 in the beam member 39 is sealed off. It will be understood that the upper portion of this opening is sealed off by the portion of the hook shaped element 34 which engages the inner surface of the door 39.

- With a View to having the latching bar 49 operate automatically when the door 39 is swung to the closed position, it is pivoted intermediate its end so that the left hand portion 56, Figure 3,

is longer than the right hand portion S1. Since the left hand portion 55 is of greater weight 'than the right hand portion 61, the latching bar 49 is biased to rock in a counterclockwise direction and, when the door 39 is open, it is held in substantially a horizontal position by engagement with the lower ends 42 of the upper flange 42 which constitutes a part of the beam member 39.

The left hand portion 96 of the latching bar 49 is provided with a projection 98 for receiving an operating bar that is indicated at 59 by broken lines in Figure 5. The operating bar 69 is arranged to engage the upper edge of the projection 68 and to bear against the underside of a fulcrum boss 10 which is formed integrally with the strap 5I as shown more clearly in Figure '7.'

As illustrated more clearly in Figure l of the drawings, the latching bar 49 is pivoted to swing parallel to the front side of the door 39 in a planeY Now when the operating col 4 neath the fulcrum boss 10 and above the projection 68 to swing the latching bar 49 to the fully latched position, the force exerted thereby also creates a moment about the hinge axis of the door 39 and thus tends to swing it to the closed position in addition to the force exerted thereon by the movement of the upper right hand corner 12 over the inclined wedging face 51.

The latching bar 49 is held in the closed position by a locking dog 13 that may be rockably mounted on a boss 14, Figure 1, through which the rivet 53 projects. A lug 15, formed integrally with the locking dog 13, is provided for receiving one end of the operating bar 59 to pry it out of its locked position as shown in Figure 4.

In describing the operation of the latching mechanism disclosed herein, it will be assumed iirst that the door 30 is closed and that the locking dog 13 occupies the locked position shown in Figure 4. The operating bar 69 is inserted underneath the lug 15 and above the projection 68 on the latching bar 49. The locking dog 15 is pried out of the locked position and is swung to the position shown in Figure 5 where it is held by engagement between the lug 'i5 and the strap 5l. Next the operating bar 69 is placed with its fulcrum end on top of the fulcrum boss 10 and the intermediate portion extending underneath the projection 68. The application ofl force to the outer end of the operating bar 59 causes the latching bar 49 to be rocked in a clockwise direc-- tion and out of engagement with the hook shaped element 34. The lading bearing against the door 39 and the weight of the door 30 itself cause it to swing to the open position about the hinge axis through the hinge pins 21. Because of the downturned position of the nose portion 44 there is a minimum of interference to the flow of lading past the hook shaped element 34.

When the door 39 is to be closed, it is swung toward the position shown in Figure 2 where the face 60 engages the face 55 ofthe nose portion 44. This is done automatically yby the inclined under surface 41 bearing against the corner edge 48 of the latching bar 49 and moving it downwardly as the door 30 is swung toward the closed position. Now the operating bar 59 is positioned as shown in Figure 5 with the fulcrum end underneath the fulcrum boss 19 and the intermediate portion of the bar above the projection 68. Force applied to the outer end of the operating bar 69 then causes the latching bar 49 to rock in a counter-clockwise direction. This moves the face 65 on the latching bar 49 over the inclined wedging face 51 on the nose portion 44 until, in the fully closed position, the face bears against the face 56 while the face 59 bears against the face as shown in Figure l. During the movement over the inclined wedging face 51, the door 3i) is wedged to the fully closed position. It is assisted in this movement by the application of force to the outer end of the operating bar 59 which acts at a distance from the hinge axis of the door 39 as indicated at 1I.

Since certain changes can be made in the foregoing construction and different embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all matter shown in the accompanying draw- 1. In a railway car having a hopper with a disy charge opening and a door hinged along one side 1 of said opening for closing the same, in combination, latching means adjacent the swinging edge of said door, said latching means including a shouldered hook-shaped latching element stationarily carried by said hopper intermediate its ends with the hook opening downwardly and a latching bar pivotally mounted on said door for engaging with the shoulder of said latching element, said latching bar extending substantially parallel to the hinge axis of said door and pivoted intermediate its ends so that one end swings toward said hinge axis to engage with said shoulder, said latching bar being spaced outwardly from a plane through said hinge axis and movable in a `plane parallel to the plane of said door, said shouldered latching element having a wedging face engageable by said latching bar whereby force applied to the other end of said latching bar in a direction away from said hinge axis to move said latching bar to the latched position exerts a pull on said door about its hinge axis in a direction to close the same.

2. In a railway car having a hopper with a discharge opening and a door hinged along one side of said opening for closing the same, in combination, latching means adjacentv the swinging edge of said door, said latching means including a shouldered hook-shaped latching element stationarily carried by said hopper intermediate its ends with the hook opening downwardly and a latching bar pivotally mounted on said door for engaging with the shoulder of said latching element, said latching bar extending substantially parallel to the hinge axis of said door and pivoted intermediate its ends so that one end swings toward said hinge axis to engage with said shoulder, said latching bar being spaced outwardly from a plane through said hinge axis and movable in a plane parallel to the plane of said door, said latch bar having a wedging face for engagement with said latching element and being movable in a plane spaced from said hinge axis of said door whereby on application of force to the other end of said latch bar in a direction away from said hinge axis to move said latching bar into wedging relation with said latching element to close said door a turning moment is exerted on said door about its hinge axis in a direction to close the same.

3. In a railway car having a hopper with a discharge opening and a door hinged along one side of said opening for closing the same, in combination, latching means for retaining said door closed including interengaging members carried by said door and hopper, respectively, said means carried by said door including a latching bar pivoted intermediate its ends on said door to swing parallel thereto with one end swinging toward the hinge axis of said door and the other end swinging away therefrom, said latching bar being spaced outwardly from a plane through said hinge axis, said means carried by said hopper including a hook-shaped member stationarily mounted on said hopper intermediate its sides with the hook opening downwardly and having a shoulder adapted to engage with said one end of said latching bar, said one end of said bar and said shoulder each having stepped engaging faces connected yby an inclined face for maintaining said door in either a partly closed or a fully closed position, the inner engaging face of said one end of said bar and the outer engaging face of said shoulder being arranged to mutually engage to hold said door partly closed and on application of force to said other end of said bar in a direction away from said hinge axis to move along the inclined face of the other to mutually engage both faces of each in the fully closed position of said door and to exert a turning moment on said door about said hinge axis in a direction tending to close the same.

4. In a railway car having a hopper with a discharge opening and a door hinged along one side of said opening for closing the same, in combination, latching means adjacent the swinging edge of said door, said latching means including shouldered hook-shaped keeper means stationarily mounted on said hopper intermediate its sides with the hook opening downwardly and a latch bar pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said door having one end swingable towards the hinge axis of said door for engagement with said keeper means, said latching bar being spaced outwardly from a plane through said hinge axis and movable in a plane parallel to the plane of said door, said keeper means and said one end of said latch bar having cooperating stepped shoulders with an intervening inclined surface therebetween, one engaging pair of said stepped shoulders being adapted to bear the weight of the door in partly closed position; said latch bar being arranged to swing along the face of the keeper shoulder on application of force to the other end of said latch bar in a direction away from said hinge axis for moving the door from partly closed to fully closed position, said latch bar being spaced outwardly from the hinge axis of the door whereby upon movement of the latch bar in wedging relation with said keeper means by said force a turning moment is exerted on said door about its hinge axis to urge the same towards closed position simultaneously with the wedging action between said latch bar and keeper means.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,464,746 Campbell Aug. 14, 1923 1,704,158 Wine et al Mar. 5, 1929 1,774,870 Campbell Sept. 2, 1930 1,820,136 Hankins et al Aug. 25, 1931 1,861,152 Campbell May 31, 1932 1,886,788 Campbell Nov. 8, 1932 1,904,023 Wine et al Apr. 18, 1933 2,206,938 Campbell July 9, 1940 

